“While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
It seems, then, that John’s baptism was a temporary ritual pointing to the ministry of Jesus.
“Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.”
Acts of the Apostles 19:1-7 NLT
Now here is an interesting and significant interlude! This titbit of information…a seemingly by-the -way injection into the story…is actually an important part of the narrative of the Holy Spirit’s appearance and work in believers on earth.
When John the Baptist was introducing Jesus to His people as their promised Messiah, an identifying part of Jesus’ ministry would be that He would baptise those who believed in Him with the Holy Spirit.
“I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Matthew 3:11 NLT
Jesus gave us an ordinance that moved on from John’s baptism, which is a once-off, permanent act of identity with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Baptism in water was a public declaration of identity with John’s message of repentance, but baptism with the Holy Spirit would be God’s permanent mark of ownership in the heart of every
believer.
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
As we have traced the work of the Holy Spirit from the day of Pentecost when He fell on the believers in Jerusalem, it has become clear that the Spirit came on various groups of people outside Jerusalem in a special and visible way when hands were laid on them… the Samaritans…the household of Cornelius, the Roman centurion…the Ephesians in the above incident…as a demonstration that grace was for all people, not only for the Jews.
Why?
Was God showing believers in different national and cultural groups that the promise of the Spirit was for them as well? He came on each group in a specific manifestation of God’s presence in fulfilment of His word.
Does this mean that every new believer needs to have hands laid on him/her to be “baptised” in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues as some teach? Let’s see what the Scriptures teach.
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
When does this happen?
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:38-39 NIV
According to Peter, when he clarified the meaning of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was and is given to every person who believed then and believes now in Jesus as the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise. He is both the agent who gives people new life…
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 NIV
…which is the work of the Spirit…
…and the new birth, which gives the believer entrance into God’s kingdom…
“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:5-8 NIV
…who comes to indwell every believer when they are born again…
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…”
1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV
The key issue is not whether the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us but whether we have “received” Him.
“Lambano (λαμβάνω) is a Greek verb primarily meaning to take, seize, or receive. The use of this word implies an active, often physical grasping or laying hold of something with the hand, and is frequently used in the New Testament to mean actively receiving or claiming what is offered, rather than passively accepting it.” (Source: SKJV Interlinear Bible)
This word, “lambano” in Greek, is the word Paul used when he asked the Ephesian believers whether they had “received” the Holy Spirit. The issue was not whether the Holy Spirit had come to live in them but whether they had laid hold of, actively grasped the truth of His presence in them.
It was by the laying on of hands that the Holy Spirit’s presence became real to them.
The consistent teaching of the New Testament is that God’s Spirit indwells every believer… but not every believer has laid hold of His presence as a reality and not everyone submits to Him as the Helper, Teacher, and Leader in their lives.
Romans 8 is the roadmap to living under the presence and authority of the Holy Spirit.
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires….You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you… And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ…And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you….For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live…For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received (lambano – Greek) does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
Romans 8:5, 9, 11, 13-16 NIV
The more we acknowledge the Holy Spirit, the more we fellowship with Him, the more we submit to Him and learn to hear His voice and follow His leading…the more we will experience His power in our lives. This is not a magic formula but a way of life that grows as we learn.
If you keep asking God for the baptism of the Spirit, as I did in my ignorance as a young believer, you are, in fact, contradicting the truth of God’s word. Instead, lay hold of Him as a real presence already in your life and learn to connect with Him through faith and obedience.
To be continued